


tonight you belong to me

by llien



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Universe, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Ratatouille (2007) References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21589351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/llien/pseuds/llien
Summary: "You love me?" Sora asked.Riku looked like he'd been punched in the gut. His face had lost all color, emerald eyes burning with the obvious horror on his face. Sora had never in his entire sixteen years seen Riku like that. Not when Sora had broken his ankle or when Riku had slipped the knife while cooking and hit a pinky— not when Sora closedthat doorwith Riku behind it, or when Sora hopped onto the wave of keyblades despite Riku's harried yell following him—never.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 461





	tonight you belong to me

**Author's Note:**

> This was definitely not supposed to be longer than 500 words but here we are.
> 
> They're wearing cute modern clothes in Paris, so insert an outfit as you please!

"You love me?" Sora asked.

Paris was vibrant with its night life around them, little chef's bistro bustling beside the tiny garden they'd taken refuge in. No window opened out onto the garden aside from the manager's room, which was empty, affording them privacy as Sora and Riku met.

Riku looked like he'd been punched in the gut. His face had lost all color, emerald eyes burning with the obvious horror on his face. Sora had never in his entire sixteen years seen Riku like that. Not when Sora had broken his ankle or when Riku had slipped the knife while cooking and hit a pinky— not when Sora closed _that door_ with Riku behind it, or when Sora hopped onto the wave of keyblades despite Riku's harried yell following him— _never._

A stone fell from his throat, straight down like the shot of an arrow, piercing through the soft flesh and muscle and hitting the bottom of his soles with echoing finality. "I mean," Sora stuttered, mind distant and heart drowning beneath that stone. "Of course you love me, like as _friends_ not as— you don't— ha ha, god I'm really stupid, huh?" Sora laughed, loud and too forceful, thinking with just his breath he could expel that rock back up like a geyser righteously bellowing free. It did nothing, not even rock it, and his heart was clenching tight, the cavity in his chest hollow. 

His eyes were smarting and he ripped his gaze away from Riku's— it was disgusted, wasn't it? His expression. The way his brows drew together, how his lips (coral-red, from being bitten, and Sora _knew_ because he'd swam leagues beneath the sea and caressed frail reefs with tail fin and hands alike, and he'd seen Riku bite and gnaw and he'd wanted to hook his finger just under his tooth and gently ease his lip free, you're _hurting_ yourself like that, Riku) were parted in dismay. How he loved Sora enough to not want to hurt his feelings when he so _obviously_ asked a love-love question and not a friend-love question which was good enough, that'd always been good enough for Sora, he'd just been dumb and thoughtless and impulsive and blurted it out, like he always had, never learning his lessons.

And he was paying for it now, heart constricting and dying and feeling like he wanted to cry because rejection stung worse than Xemnas' ethereal blades or young Xehanort's whip of condensed time that had sapped the protective epidermis away, withered and left behind the raw secondary layer, the name Sora could never remember because he'd never continued school. Maybe if he had he wouldn't be such an idiot.

"Sorry," Sora manged, "sorry, I'm being weird," he took a deep steadying breath, grabbed his heart, and for the first time hid it well. On his exhale, he reminded himself he'd hidden his fears so easily when he'd stood before a possessed Riku. Why was this so much harder? He patched together a small, but sincere enough grin. "I think I need to cool my head, had too much apple cider." Never mind that it was non-alcoholic, courtesy of Aqua. 

Riku was still stunned silent, likely relieved Sora was taking matters into his own hands. Sora spun on his heel, abandoning the tiny garden little chef grew his herbs in. He'd barely made it one step when Riku's hand clamped down tight around his wrist, arresting him. Instinctively, Sora jerked his wrist skyward and then sharply backwards, a gesture born of too many people having grabbed him that way. 

It ripped Riku off of him and he stumbled backwards, Sora catching his wide-eyed dismay over his shoulder. Guilt coated his tongue in thick sour hurt, and he immediately hunched his shoulders up by his ears, turning just to the side so he could see Riku but not invite another conversation.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that, I just," he bit his lip sharply, then exhaled, trying again for that winning smile he was known for. "You scared me."

Hearing Riku's voice at last felt damning and final, as if the conclusion Sora had been running from was finally catching up to him. It was soft, hushed. Riku always spoke that way late at night, when an intoxicating tincture of insomnia and nightmares kept Sora awake. A gentle, _it's okay Sora, I'm here._ "I wasn't trying to keep you here if you don't want to just... please, don't run away from me." Riku looked down at his feet, silken hair falling forward and spilling over his shoulders where it'd begun to grown out again. 

Still, Sora couldn't help his sharp, mean snort of humor at that. "When have I _ever_ run away from you, Riku?"

It was mean in a way Sora had never been with Riku before, barring that year their friendship had stretched taut and tenuous. Back then, _you're stupid!_ had been the worst of Sora's sharp tongue — now, after failure and insecurity and weakness had been thrown into his face time and again, he'd learned what words best cut where, and how to wield them efficiently, even if he didn't want to.

Yet, Riku didn't seem hurt by this. Instead, his expression steeled, green eyes hardening into stone as he forced Sora to meet his gaze. "You haven't," Riku agreed, voice even and deeper than Sora's ever could achieve. "So don't start now."

How mean, Sora thought, unable to help his sad smile. He sighed, too loud and boisterous to be serious as he stepped back into the tiny garden, well-used pathways forming a miniature maze to explore. He rubbed at his face and then his hair, "You never did go easy on me."

 _"Welllll,"_ Riku said, already smiling wide enough to split his face, and Sora scowled, immediately knowing Riku was referencing all their fights and games and competitions.

"Every time I won was fair and square!"

"Sure," Riku said amicably, grinning wide and boyish, "of course."

Sora pouted, finding one of the sole wooden benches in the garden to sit on in a show of aggravation that wasn't really genuine. Riku followed him at a sedate pace, sitting beside Sora with a smidge more grace, but too at ease with Sora to ever really keep up his cool-guy facade. 

Paris was gorgeous, it was true. Similar to San Fransokyo, there was a modernity to it that seemed to awe Riku more than it did Sora. The stars were a bit harder to see here, something Sora both missed and was relieved for, but the lights strung all along little chef's bistro were more than beautiful. They cast a warm, candlelit glow to Riku, his hair silky and colors gleaming with opalescent ease. He was warm next to Sora, radiating it and disturbing the minute humid chill present in Paris. 

The wind rustled all the plants around them, sending up a spray of various herbal scents that Sora breathed in deeply, separating them easily and identifying them. He'd been cooking with little chef earlier, so it all felt fresh in mind. The bistro was really just in front of them, but the sound of dining and chatter was muted beneath the breeze and the night ambiance surrounding them, cocooning them securely in fairy lights and foliage. 

Even though Sora was trying hard to stay angry or tense or any kind of uncomfortable, given, well, what had _just_ happened, it was impossible to. He never could be unhappy around Riku. His presence was a soothing balm on all of Sora's frayed, overwrought ends, like cool mist on sunburned skin. Sora couldn't resist even if he tried and he didn't _want_ to try.

Gradually his shoulders eased out of their tense hold, and he propped himself up on his arms, leaning back to admire the scenery. Occasionally, the ends of Riku's hair drifted on the wind, tentatively teasing Sora's shoulder and upper arm before falling back down in the most hesitant of caresses, so light Sora could barely feel it, but he was hyper aware of Riku. 

Riku spoke, words easing into the night with quiet strength, even. Nothing felt disturbed, all at peace. "What made you say that?"

Sora laughed, embarrassed but not too alarmed. Riku wasn't rejecting him, evident by how quickly he shut down Sora's attempts to run away. Riku probably didn't want to lose their bond of friendship anymore than Sora did. He tilted just a little to watch Riku. "I don't know. You know me, always just blurting stuff out without thinking."

"That's right," Riku remarked as if remembering, dark brows furrowing as he turned to pierce Sora with an almost furious look. It startled him, and all his good humor slipped away to puddle with dread in his soles once more. "You shouldn't call yourself stupid. You're _not_ stupid."

Of all things Riku could be mad at, Sora hadn't expected _that_ at all. He really couldn't contain to burst of sharp, surprised laughter that rebounded inside the tiny garden with warm vibrancy. Riku was really just being nice, saying that, even though it felt good to hear it. Sora knew it wasn't true, though.

"I can't believe you're mad about that!" Sora said, breathless and pink-cheeked. Riku's own face flushed darkly, whether because Sora had laughed at him or he was getting even more worked up. "It doesn't matter Riku, it's fine."

"It does!" Riku hissed, leaning forward with a hand on the bench between them. They'd already been sitting close before, and now Sora swallowed hard as their height difference made itself apparent once more. "You can't believe that, Sora."

 _Of course I do,_ Sora thought quietly, choosing to look Riku in the eyes. The one highlighted by the light was the prettiest green, so close, framed by pale lashes. Riku was so pretty, it stole Sora's breath if he looked too closely. All his feminine grace contrasted with masculine strength confused Sora, made his stomach go topsy-turvy and his heart beat raucously fast.

Sora grinned, leaning a bit closer to Riku so he could nudge their shoulders together playfully. "Can't help thinking that when straight A's over here always got better scores."

Riku still looked upset, but Sora's levity seemed to have helped. "I actually studied for those marks, you know."

"And I didn't, because I had a best friend who would let me copy." Sora bat his eyes, and Riku finally broke, snorting.

"I _know_ you're talking about Kairi," Riku said, "because I distinctly remember hiding my homework all the time from you."

"Who said I never found it?"

"Sora!"

Sora dissolved into laughter, followed by Riku, and for a moment they were normal best friends, no world saving or darkness or light or shadows dogging them.

Of course, it didn't last. Riku nudged him back, and then didn't seem to care enough to bother going back to his spot. They stared there, shoulder against shoulder, arm to arm, and Sora tried to smother the traitorous hope fluttering in his heart as his cheeks heated.

"Come on, stop distracting me. Tell me."

Sora remained silent, unable to glance at Riku this time. The dark soil housing the plants seemed soft, wet and rich, and Sora wondered what it'd be like to lay in a field of grass far away from everything and everyone. Not that he wanted to be alone, but sometimes he missed the simplicity.

"Please?"

Sora closed his eyes. Riku only ever found his manners when he wanted something, and Sora was _weak weak weak_ for it.

"I don't know," he whispered, "just the way you looked. At me. It made me realize I..." this was harder to say than anything else he'd ever had to confess, and it giddily hit him then that he was _confessing_ when he'd just realized his feelings barely fifteen minutes ago.

Still, Riku had asked him to brave, so for him he would.

Sora looked up, grinning even through his blush. Riku was watching Sora, eyes intent on him, as if nothing else at all existed outside of Sora, and he could almost hate that look because it made Sora wish for impossible, silly things, like being _important_ and being loved. "I love you! For ages now, I just didn't know." He laughed, light and airy and with it went every bit of his love and his heart, so full it was overrunning and he didn't know what to do but to let it out. "I love you, Riku."

Riku's eyes shined, and his face bloomed into a smile Sora had never seen before. With shaking hands, Riku cupped Sora's face, thumbs stroking his cheeks, hands hotter than Sora realized they'd feel touching him, and Riku laughed, a single breathless sound.

"You love me," Riku said, grinning, and Sora's hope was a wild, uncontrollable thing, spreading through him from where Riku touched him. He couldn't, he _shouldn't,_ he _can't,_ it wasn't possible—

"Sora," Riku murmured, as if in awe, and Sora was shaking from feeling too much all at once, "I've been in love with you my whole life."

 _Oh,_ Sora thought, taking that in, turning it over and holding it close and squeezing it as if to check it was real. "Your whole life?" Sora asked, voice watery.

Riku nodded, smiling so happily it seemed like a dream. 

"Really?"

"Always," Riku affirmed, and Sora sobbed a laugh, escaping Riku's touch just so he could surge forward and engulf in a hug, arms wrapped tight around Riku's shoulders and face buried in Riku's neck, where he smelled clean and comforting and like home.

"Stupid," Sora said, crying but too relieved to try and stop it, "I was so scared!"

"You surprised me!" Riku said defensively, but his arms squeezed Sora's waist tight, one hand sliding up Sora's back as if to cradle him comfortingly. "I've been hiding it for so long that _I_ was scared."

Chest to chest, Sora could feel Riku's heart, and it gave him a wonderful, dizzying thrill to know Riku could feel his beating just as hard. Riku's beat then Sora's did, right on the heels, a staccato, rapid rhythm. Riku's arms coiled tighter, and Sora didn't mind.

"I was gonna head into the backroom and find the strongest drink there," Sora said, lying through his teeth but already wanting to push the officially-spoiled-by-Riku label as far as he could.

Unfortunately, Riku knew him too well. "Liar, you don't even like the _smell_ of it when you cook with little chef."

"You know me too well," Sora grumbled, incredibly pleased nonetheless that Riku remembered one of Sora's tiny complaints, inconsequential as they were.

"Of course," Riku murmured, breath snuffling into Sora's hair where his nose drew a line along Sora's ear then down his neck. Goosebumps erupted all along Sora's body, and he shivered. "You're cold?"

"No," Sora whispered, "you're warm." He squeezed Riku tighter, fully seated in his lap now but beyond the realm of shame to care a single bit. The way Riku held him closer said he didn't mind either.

"Good," Riku said, just as hushed, "because I don't wanna let you go yet."

Sora laughed, dropping his forehead to Riku's shoulder as he melted against him. "I can't believe you felt like this the whole time and never said or did anything about it." Especially with how affectionate he was being _now,_ hands rubbing soothing circles into Sora and face buried in Sora's neck.

"And _you_ felt it for all of five seconds before you had to say something," Riku retorted dryly. Sora flushed furiously.

"Sor-ry!" He said, but Riku just chuckled, a sound Sora always loved and loved even more when he could feel it.

"Since I'm so impulsive..." Sora trailed off, pulling back just enough to see Riku's face. Riku was sweetly pink-cheeked, a sight Sora adored immediately, and he lifted up to kiss Riku's cheek, just to see him darken. "It's not always a bad thing, right?"

Riku nodded, eyes shiny and dazed, and when he dipped down just enough, Sora placed a kiss on Riku's forehead, then the tip of his nose, and finally on his lips, where they both broke it, grinning and laughing.


End file.
